Pardon My Passing
by HazyDayClearNight
Summary: Chlex fic. This is the story of what happens after Covenant. How Chloe survives the bomb and how Clark meets Lois Lane.
1. Call Me Chloe

Pardon My Passing

Chapter 1

Call Me Chloe

The rain was pounding on the windows making the small farmhouse almost shake. The wind was brutally slamming against the shudders making them bang every few moments after they came in contact with the house. Lighting flashes illuminated the landscape of the farm and the large barn near the house. A loud crash signified the thunder that could be heard for miles.

The sound of the storm raging outside was music to his ears. Clark Kent was a superman. He was nearly invincible, moved at the speed of light, had laser vision, incredible hearing, and tremendous strength but none of that helped him now. He hadn't been able to help her when that bomb blew up her safe house. He could do nothing but watch as her casket was lowered into the ground along with her father's. Now, he could do nothing but mourn the death of a friend; one of his best friends.

They had never been able to recover a body for Chloe Sullivan or her father, Gabe, all that was left was ash and a wrecked house. It had been nearly two months since the bomb exploded but that didn't stop the tears from coming on nights he was alone. The case had quickly reached a dead end and, with the help of a heaping donation from Lionel Luther, had been declared unsolved. That's all his friend's death was to those FBI agents: a cold case.

It was close to two in the morning as Clark sat in the corner of his bedroom crying. It was a new sensation to him. Mourning the loss of someone he loved. He had had plenty of heartache, for sure, but no one had ever up and died on him before. His pain just grew at the thought of Lex in the hospital again. God, what had he been thinking? The doctors thought he might have purposely drunken the poison this time. Luckily, one of Lex's private guards had found him collapsed in his study and had the paramedics there in less than ten minutes. Lex was alive, barely, but still, alive. He had been in and out of consciousness and was still unable to form complete sentences for nearly a week. His body seemed to react even more badly to the poison this time.

Clark had been to visit a few times. Tonight was the last and his reason for crying. Clark had walked into the Luther Mansion, where Lex was, now, receiving home care, and proceeded to the master bedroom. Lex was deep in sleep so Clark sat in a chair placed near the king-sized bed where Lex lay. After a few moments, Lex started mumbling in his sleep. Clark leaned forward and listened closely.

"Chl...Chloe...I pro...I protect you..." Those were the only audible words that Clark could make out through the rest of the gibberish but it was enough to make him stunned. He had put so much energy into not thinking about Chloe that it scared him to even hear her name fearing that it might completely break down the barrier he had put up between his loss and the rest of his mind. He left as soon as possible not bothering to answer his mother, Martha, when she asked what was wrong after he stormed in the kitchen. He had just slammed his bedroom door shut and broken down. His parents had left him alone knowing he had to make his own peace. The only time he had been disturbed was when Martha had knocked on the door telling him she was leaving plate of dinner outside [the door] for him.

Clark somehow found himself on his bed and was falling asleep. All night he tossed in turned restless in the most brutal way. He woke in the early hours of the morning with the sheets tangled around his legs and covered in sweat. He tossed the covers aside and looked at himself in the mirror. His eyes betrayed no signs of his activities from the previous night and morning. No redness, not puffy at all, and not bloodshot. He dressed and went down the stairs. He found his mother sitting at the table with an unknown woman drinking coffee. They seemed to be involved in polite conversation but Martha looked relieved when she saw Clark.

The other looked up at him. She had light brown hair, hazel eyes, and an all around beautiful face. She eyed him curiously then walked up to him and held her hand out.

"I'm Lois Lane, Chloe Sullivan's cousin." Clark grasped her hand and shook it.

"Clark Kent, Chloe's best friend." She nodded distractedly like she had already known that for ages.

"I'm here to look into her murder and she mentioned your name more than a few times when we talked. I was hoping you might be able to tell me about the details of her life; I didn't know her that well." Lois rushed through the explanation and getting right to the point.

"Anyway I can help." Clark smiled.

She nodded again, "That's what I was hoping you would say."

"I'll just get started on breakfast." Martha said getting up from the table, "Jonathan should be home from town soon. You two can talk in the barn if you don't want to be interrupted." She gave a Clark a look that told him to be careful before smiling.

"Thanks, mom." Clark replied leading Lois to the loft. They settled on the couch and she took out a notebook.

"Let's get down to business. Did Chloe have any enemies?" She started her pencil already writing on the page.

"Well, Lionel Luther was probably her biggest one and even she and I had a falling out a while ago." He shifted in his seat.

"You were her enemy?"

"No, but we weren't as close as before."

"Sex?"

Clark blushed bright red, "No, she offered to investigate me for Lionel Luther for a column in the Daily Planet."

"Huh, I always wondered how she got that column so young; not that she wasn't good, just inexperienced."

"Yeah."

"What about Lionel's son? Lex, I believe."

"I thought Lex and Chloe were alright with each other. They weren't friends or enemies."

"Thought?" Lois asked catching his mistake.

"I was visiting Lex and he was talking about her in his sleep. It sounded like he promised to protect her."

"Really?" She sounded interested now.

"Yeah, he doesn't talk much right now but you could stop by the mansion." She nodded writing furiously.

She looked up momentarily, "Why doesn't he talk?"

"He, uh, had an accident. He was poisoned. When it happened he couldn't say much, now, well, no one knows why he won't talk. They doctors say his, um, vocal cords are 'undamaged.'"

"Well, what about friends?"

"Um, there's me, Lana, Pete, and Lex, I guess. But Pete moved away, Lana's in Paris, Lex was poisoned, and I hadn't spoken to her or Lex much for a few weeks before-" He cut himself off feeling the, now, familiar guilt rising up. Lana had been back only for the funeral as had Pete. They had both left again by the end of the day leaving him all alone.

"That's not much of a start. What happened for her and Gabe to go into the safe house anyway?"

"She testified against Lionel Luther in court and he was sent to jail. I testified, too, but she was in deeper than me. I think she had started digging into his past. She thought he had killed his parents or had someone else do it for him."

"That's a better start. Let's go see Lex, now, and talk more later." Lois said standing up, "I don't know where the mansion is so you'll have to show me."

&&&&&&

Lex Luther was sitting up in bed staring at the wall and thinking about Chloe. He had to know if his plan had worked; he had to know if she was safe. He had been notified about the bomb in the safe house after his _slight_ incident. The people watching her were supposed to notify him as soon as she was alive, awake, or dead and they had yet to attempt to make contact with him. No one else knew about the private guard he had set up for Chloe.

His bedroom door flew open and Clark Kent entered with a woman. They walked towards his bed then settled themselves in chairs next to it. His eyes followed them across the room.

"Lex," Clark started, "this is Lois Lane, Chloe's cousin. She wants to talk about Chloe." Lex's eyes widened in approval and he nodded his head once.

"Mr. Luther, I'm studying Chloe's death. No bodies where recovered so, I think something is amiss."

Lex nodded once, again. Then opened his mouth praying the words would come out right, "I was supposed to...protect Chloe." That was an improvement, a complete sentence to another person.

"Clark already to me that. Were you protecting her from your father?" He nodded. "Do you know about the bombing?" Another nod. "Do you think he did it?" Same reaction. "Did Chloe trust you?" He hesitated this time but eventually nodded. "Good. Did you have people looking after her that day?" After his affirmative answer she sat back.

"Lex, do you miss her?" Clark asked tentatively.

Lex looked him straight in the eye feeling more alive than he had in months, "I will when I know she's dead."

Clark seemed mildly dazed by the answer but Lois seemed to expect it and agree.

&&&&&&

The two younger people had left after a few more questions about her enemies. Lex thought it should be fairly obvious by now who had had the house bombed. He had been expecting something like that and he had a plan.

Lex's crew contained five trustworthy men that had round the clock surveillance of Chloe and were trained for quite a few different scenarios. They were supposed to go to the house early and check for bombs. If none were found, they would narrow the suspects down to Gabe or an FBI agent. They were told to protect Chloe at all costs. Lex didn't know why he cared so much about the young blonde. They had never been close but there was something about her. Maybe her willingness to fight against his father or her quirky reporter attitude or her smile that could light up an entire ballroom. Maybe he just didn't want to see his father destroy someone like that. Maybe he couldn't deal with that again.

&&&&&&

The light streaming in through the window seemed almost blinding. It hurt to open her eyes and she felt like she couldn't move. Her body was sluggish; too tired to even make an effort to move. She let her eyes open again closing them just as quickly as before when she realized the light was gone. Someone had closed the blinds. She slowly lifted her eyelids letting her eyes adjust to the darkened room.

"Hello, it's nice to finally see you awake. You've been in a coma for close to two months." The speaker was a tall, black man with a large mustache standing next to the window. He was close to six feet tall and was wearing an Armani suit. His voice was deep and friendly.

She looked around the room. It was beige all around including the walls, carpet, and the sheets on the bed. There was an IV next to her queen-sized bed. The walls were bare of any pictures but there was a television situated on a stand on the opposite wall from her. She was pleased to find a small table next to her bed with her laptop on it.

"Where am I?" She asked finding her voice was hoarse.

"Well, Lex calls it the Shelter. It's his own personal safe house." The man answered with a laugh.

"Lex?"

"Yes, Mr. Luther hired my men and me to watch over and take you here if anything went wrong."

"Who are you?"

"He was right; you are a reporter to the bone. My name is Alan Roberts."

"What happened?"

"A bomb went off in the safe house provided by the FBI. You and your father were in the building. It's amazing that you're even alive." He answered with no lack of awe in his voice.

"What about my dad?" She asked worried.

"He didn't make it."

She felt her eyes water suddenly needing to be alone. Her daddy was gone. First, her mother left, now, her father died.

Alan stood up and walked towards the door, "I'll just leave you to make your peace, Miss Sullivan."

"Call me Chloe." She smiled to him through the tears that had started spilling down her cheeks.

"Duly noted...Chloe." With one last grin he exited the room and left her to her thoughts.


	2. Making Contact

Pardon My Passing

Chapter 2

Making Contact

Clark sat in his loft looking at the only letter Lana had sent him since being in Paris.

_Clark,_

_I'm in Paris! Being away from Smallville has made some things a lot more clear. I realized that I really don't know what to say to you, Clark. I do miss you but I think not being around you has been a relief. It's given me time to think about everything that we went through and I've come to a decision. We make good friends, Clark, but we need to move past any feelings we may have had first. All I'm saying is I think we need to go back to the beginning. I don't want to lose you as a friend but if you can't move on I'm willing to risk it._

_I'll be back in a month. I think we need to talk then._

_Lana_

That was the only contact either of them had attempted to make during her stay in Europe.

"Something wrong?" A woman's voice called from the top of the stairs.

"Lois." Clark said standing up and putting the letter away.

"What was that?" She nodded to the box he had just placed the letter in.

"Nothing, just Lana telling me how Paris is." He lied looking down. "Did you want something?"

"Yes, your mother offered to let me stay here and I accepted. I was then told to go to the barn and tell you that dinner is ready." She said it all in one breath reminding him very much of…Chloe.

"I'll be right there." She nodded and left. He looked out the opening, took a deep breath, and then followed her into the house.

&&&&&

"So, are you through faking illness, yet?" Lucas' unmistakable voice rang throughout Lex's bedroom. He walked in grinning at his older brother then taking a seat next on the bed. Lex raised an eyebrow but remained silent.

"The doctors were curious, you know, that poison should have killed you. So tell me, how did you manage to be fully functioning in a week." Lucas looked him straight in the eye.

"Fully functioning?" Lex asked.

"Lex, we both know you could get out of this bed and run a marathon screaming at the top of your lungs right now if you wanted to. What's stopping you?"

"Did you figure this out all by yourself?" He smirked and sat up.

"No, I had the darling doctors tell me. They say you haven't had so much as a cold since you were nine-years-old. Interesting, isn't it?" Lucas smirked.

"Is there a point to your ramblings?" Lex asked annoyed and a bit scared at the same time.

"I think that meteor shower affected you more than you're willing to admit. Something along the lines of the ultimate immunity, I believe."

Lex just stared at his younger brother. He had reached the same conclusion the night he was poisoned. He was proven correct and he was free from all of the pressure. Free to not talk to anyone. Free to forget about business. Free to think about Chloe.

"I do believe you may be on to something." Lex answered after a few moments making sure to keep a straight face.

"Mr. Luthor?" The butler called from the open door.

"Yes?" Both brothers answered. The butler looked at Lex.

"Pardon me, Master Lex, you have a phone call."

"I told you I would deal with no business until I am well again." His voice showed his agitation at being interrupted.

"It's not business, sir. The phone call is on your private line." Lex's head snapped up.

"I'll take it in my study."

&&&&&

Chloe looked around the large room. The TV was playing some soap opera where someone was shot and came back to life. Chloe wasn't really paying attention to it. She had her laptop in her lap making sure all her files were in order and not tampered with. She had to keep her mind occupied just so she wouldn't cry anymore. Alan had left her alone for a few hours to let her mourn and explore her room. Her body didn't seem to want to move very far from the bed, however.

A knock on the door caught her attention and she yelled for them to come in. A young woman smiled at her when she entered the room and set a tray of food across her lap.

"Who are you?" Chloe asked ever curious.

"Leah, Ms. Sullivan." The woman was polite, that much was certain. "I'm a nurse. You don't know it but I handle all your medication."

"What's your last name, Leah?" Chloe felt an inexplicable urge to learn everything she could about the woman.

"Ah, now I know Lex wouldn't want you to know that." She smiled mysteriously and sat down on the bed. "How are you feeling today? Any headaches of any sort?"

"A slight headache for the past couple of hours, I guess. Nothing to worry about."

"That is where you're wrong. It's my job to inspect the littlest twang of pain. Orders directly from the boss." She began an examination of Chloe's body. Leah made polite conversation with minimal answers from Chloe. She asked about high school, friends, life but Chloe felt like that wasn't her life anymore. As far as anyone knew, she was gone and she was never coming back. That thought struck her more than she thought it would and she stopped answering Leah at all. Eventually, the questions ceased too.

"Well, you seem to be fine. I'll be back regularly to inspect the damage. You should get more sleep." Chloe started to protest but Leah held up her hand. "I know you spent the last month in a coma, but you still need to sleep if you want to get better." She left when Chloe nodded in reluctant agreement.

&&&&&

Dinner at the Kent farm was more strained than it was in earlier years. Clark was eager to find out more about Chloe as was Lois. John and Martha were mostly silent allowing Clark and Lois to discuss what they found out so far.

"We should stop by the cemetery tomorrow." Lois said in a voice that implied it wasn't just a suggestion and she would leave without Clark if he made her.

"That sounds good." Clark nodded. "You haven't been there yet, right?"

"No. I don't really like cemeteries. Too many dead people." Lois caught herself and looked down at her plate. "Sorry."

Clark cleared his throat but no one said anything else. Dinner passed quickly. Lois and Clark met in the barn after to discuss things in private. They seated themselves on the couch.

"Do you think Lex had anything to do with it?" Clark asked.

"That depends, were they sleeping together when she disappeared?" Lois asked it so casually the question almost didn't faze Clark.

He blushed deeply, "No. As far as I know Chloe's never slept with anyone."

She smirked, "Then you don't know much. She and Lex obviously had a relationship beyond the public view. Judging by how Lex looked when he thought of her, I can guess how far he wanted to take it. The question is, how far did they really take it?"

"Really? You think Chloe and Lex…" Clark trailed off not sure how to word it.

"I think there's a good chance they never shacked up but he certainly wanted to."

Clark sat stunned for a minute. "Hey, Lois. What do you mean when you say I didn't know Chloe very well?

"She wasn't a virgin Clark. Not for a while."


End file.
